Sunday, February 24, 2008

barley, or hordeum vulgare, is something we canadians know a lot about ...... considering we produce some 12 million tonnes of it in our prairie provinces, we should! this important little grain has its original beginnings as a wild variety in the levantine areas of middle east and became one of the first domesticated grain crops for both human and animal consumption. as an ancient grain, its use was extremely important in the production of beer and other fermented drinks, and the staff of life — bread (citations back to ancient egypt).

the role of barley [שערה] in judaism is also important. it is one of the seven species [שבעת המינים] which play an integral part in our religion's harvest festival celebrations and are symbolic of the state of israel. barley has figured greatly in ashkenazi soups such as bean and barley, beef and barley, mushroom barley and many other interpretations. these soups are more or less a kind of winter-ish fare and considered a kind of comfort food since barley can be on the heavy side. much of that, however, depends on who is cooking it and the recipe used. but then again, i doubt there are many yiddishe mammas (jewish mothers) who rely/relied on a recipe for these soups! i imagine whatever was available got thrown in.

barley isn't just a jewish or middle eastern thing. it is found in many other cuisines and cultures. it is ground into flour and used in many recipes which have roots in the UK (scottish barley cakes, for example) or northern europe and extends its use all the way into parts of the mediterranean and asia.

barley can be used in a variety of ways — from whole grain preparations to baked items using the finely milled flour. look here for an array of ways to use this grain from the alberta barley commission.

as a final note, there are two types of barley: pearl and pot. pearl barley has the tough outer coating removed and cooks faster than the unpolished pot barley. both can be used for the following recipe however i prefer using the polished (pearl) type grain.

double mushroom barley soup

barley soups are nourishing and hearty. this one, a meatless version, is on the lighter side of those thick pottage type ones. it uses 2 types of mushrooms and some modern flavourings like dark soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. it results in a dark and luscious soup broth, packed full of savoury goodness from the earthy nuances of the mushrooms and dried herbs. the soup freezes well and is good for any time of the year, not just winter!

4
comments:

sarita
said...

have never had barley soups except in cholent. this sounds so ashkenazi to me and wish you could deliver some!. i have to try it before "winter" ends here. btw, i love sage, specially with pasta. hope it tastes a lot of sage.

sari - hehe, it is SO ashkenazi ;p it's a very popular type of soup here especially with flanken meat thrown in. the original no way has sage in it! (bad english there!) LOL. the sage taste is not terribly pronounced here but you can add more. i wouldn't add a lot since it's a powerful herb.

deanna - hope you like! it's a bit different from the regular version since it has the dried shiitakes and soy sauce. you can use fresh shiitakes or even oyster mushrooms, too. posting has been a bit difficult lately due to circumstances. thanks for the comments and visit/s. :)) oy, pesach is coming!!!!!!!!!!!!

Add me to your reading :=)

if you see a recipe or something you like — cut, paste and print all you like. the only thing i ask is to please credit me on your site with a link back if you decide you'd like to use something i've done :D

do you have a question, comment, complaint constructive criticism or request? i'd love to hear from you. feel free to email me (click icon) or leave a comment .... anonymous comments mean not even i know who you are, so don't be shy! you know you wanna..... LOL.
your feedback about recipes you try is also greatly appreciated for both me and readers of my blog. i thank all of you who have tried things i post.

About Me

a canadian, food-obsessed guy who loves to research, read, write and talk about all things culinary. well, most of the time • collecting recipes, clippings and cookbooks as well as kitchen paraphenalia has long been an 'illness'. blogging about it is my cheap version of therapy • many of the recipes & foods i include may relate to jewish cuisine but my goal is not to maintain a blog which solely focuses on that aspect. so .... no pork, shellfish or mixed meat & dairy here but a myriad of otherwise just as delicious & mouth-watering recipes and information about what enters our gullets • apart from the comestible, posts often include bytes of other interesting finds, quite unrelated to the world of food — a latest earth-shattering or just curious news event, music, humour, the internet, our non-human counterparts & the other oddities of our world will sometimes be featured in the spotlight.